Peter Joseph Noozhumurry Varghese, (born 19 March 1956) is an Australian retired diplomat and public servant. He was the

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

of the

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations, international aid (using the branding Australian Aid), consular services and trade and i ...

from 3 December 2012 to 22 July 2016. He announced in November 2015 that he would leave the position in July 2016 to become the chancellor of the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = ...

Early life and education

Varghese was born in

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to ethnic Asian Indian parents of

Nasrani Nasrani may refer to: * Nasrani (Arabic term for Christian) derived from Hebrew word Netzer or the Aramaic Nasraya * ''Nasrani'' (film), a 2007 Malayalam movie starring Mammootty * Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also ca ...

Malayalee origin. He emigrated to Australia as a child in 1964, first moving to Newcastle and two years later heading to Brisbane. He studied history and graduated from the

with a

university medal A University Medal is one of several types of award conferred by universities upon outstanding students or members of staff. The usage and status of university medals differ between countries and between universities. As award on graduation Many ...

Career

Varghese's first diplomatic posting was at the Australian Embassy in

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from 1980 to 1983. His second overseas posting was at the Embassy of Australia, Washington, D.C. from 1986 to 1988. From 1989 to 1990, Varghese was a

speechwriter A speechwriter is a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches that will be delivered by another person. Speechwriters are employed by many senior-level elected officials and executives in the government and private sectors. They can also b ...

to Foreign Minister Gareth Evans. Varghese's first Senior Executive Service appointment within the

was as the Assistant Secretary of the Staffing Branch from 1991 to 1992. In 1994 he was posted to the Australian Embassy in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. He was then the First Assistant Secretary of the Public Affairs Division from 1994 to 1996. As Head of the White Paper Secretariat from 1996 to 1997, Varghese led the drafting of Australia’s first white paper on foreign and trade policy. He was appointed the First Assistant Secretary of the International Security Division in 1997 and then seconded to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet as First Assistant Secretary of the International Division from 1998 to 1999. In 2000, Varghese was appointed the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia and served until 2002. He then served as Deputy Secretary of the

from 2002 to 2003. Varghese was then appointed as Senior Adviser (International) to

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

from 2003 to 2004. From 2004 to 2009, Varghese was Director-General of the Office of National Assessments, an Australian government intelligence agency which reports directly to the

. From August 2009 to October 2012, Varghese was the Australian High Commissioner to India, with concurrent accreditation to

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...

. Varghese was then appointed the Secretary of the

in December 2012, serving until July 2016. When the Abbott Government took office in September 2013, Varghese had to oversee the integration of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with

Australian Agency for International Development Australian Aid is the brand name used to identify projects in developing countries supported by the Australian Government. As of 2014 the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been responsible for Australia's official development ...

. It was announced on 24 November 2015 that he would be stepping down from the position in July 2016 to take on an appointment as chancellor of the University of Queensland. In 2016 Varghese joined the board of directors at AMP Limited. His cousin Jacob was hired as a lawyer by the firm taking action against the AMP with regards to financial misconduct.

Honours

In 2010, Varghese was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

for distinguished service to public administration, particularly in leading reform in the Australian intelligence community and as an adviser in the areas of foreign policy and international security. Varghese was conferred with a

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad h ...

'' by the University of Queensland in July 2013 in recognition of his distinguished service to diplomacy and

Australian Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the ...

Personal life

Varghese is married and has an adult son.

Notes

References and further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varghese, Peter 1956 births Australian people of Indian descent Living people Australian historians Australian people of Malayali descent Australian public servants Malayali people University of Queensland alumni Officers of the Order of Australia High Commissioners of Australia to Malaysia High Commissioners of Australia to India Ambassadors of Australia to Bhutan Kenyan emigrants to Australia Kenyan people of Indian descent